Could you pass bank ethics challenge? Standards body makes integrity test compulsory - and invites public to have a bash too

Ordinary people are being invited to have a go at a personal ethics and integrity test aimed at bankers and other financial services staff.

The challenge is offered by professional industry body the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, which has just made taking the test compulsory for all members as it battles to restore public faith in finance.

Integrity test: Existing and would-be members of the CISI risk being frozen out of the finance industry unless they pass the mandatory test in future

It offers entrants a series of ethical dilemmas, all of which are based on real life examples from the financial sector. Each dilemma evolves over a series of time periods, with the choice of candidate response determining how the scenario develops.

Existing and would-be members of the CISI risk being frozen out of the finance industry unless they pass the mandatory test in future.

More...

Until now, only individuals offering financial advice had to take such a test as a condition of their CISI status and to comply with UK rules on how investment funds are sold to savers.

Bankers working in areas like corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, and traders in bonds, shares and derivatives, have no such regulatory requirements imposed upon them.

But the CISI said that systematic checks on the ethics and integrity of workers across the entire financial services industry were long overdue.

As well as demanding compliance across its entire global membership of 40,000, the CISI said it would no longer accept entry-level candidates for its capital markets qualifications unless they had passed the exam first.

Without such credentials, jobseekers could struggle to find work at some of the world's largest banks, the CISI said.

The initiative coincides with news that Britain's financial services sector took on new staff in the first quarter of 2013 with more gains expected, signalling that a prolonged period of job losses may be ending.

A survey from the CBI employer's lobby and consultancy PwC said sentiment in banking improved for a second straight quarter and employment grew by 2,000 in the three months to March.

The CISI, an international organisation with offices in financial centres such as London, Dublin, Singapore, Dubai and Mumbai, said around 7,300 of its members have sat the Integrity Matters test since it was introduced in late 2008.

It hopes the compulsory roll-out will reassure savers that the industry is serious about ending so-called 'casino-banking'.

'There has been much talk about a number of initiatives which are aimed at restoring trust in financial services. This is one that has come to fruition and today we are introducing a real change,' said CISI chief executive Simon Culhane.

Martin Wheatley, head of Britain's new Financial Conduct Authority, welcomed the CISI move by saying he was 'genuinely pleased' to hear it was taking this step.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? SAMPLE QUESTIONS FROM THE CISI INTEGRITY TEST

If you take the test, tell us how you did in the comments section below.

A: You discover a high-performing graduate trainee in your firm has lied on his CV about having a degree. It turns out he dropped out of university after a year when his mother died of cancer, intending to return to his studies later.

Do you: 1. Feel sympathy for his loss and allow him to continue working. 2. Dismiss him – he has been dishonest. 3. Tell HR it’s a recruitment issue and you don’t intend to get involved.

B: You overhear colleagues talking about how they use stalling tactics and low offers of compensation when customers make complaints, rather than following company procedure. They say the bank could save a fortune if it had the backbone to stand up to ‘whingeing customers’.

Do you:1. Do nothing – no one will know what you overheard. 2. Confront the colleagues and encourage them to follow procedures. 3. Report the matter to your manager, making it clear you expect the matter to be followed up.